System and method for selecting and deselecting information in an electronic document

ABSTRACT

A system and method processes selected regions in an electronic text to edit the selected region on a continuous basis, without destroying the original highlighting and forcing the user to re-bracket the entire section. The user can extend, retract, and separate selected regions. These selected regions can then be universally processed with any function available to the processor, including highlighting, printing, copying, deleting, or spell checking. The invention economizes on keystrokes and cursor actions, since the whole region of text desired to be highlighted does not have to be rebuilt every time a change is made. The invention also enables a user to select text by moving a cursor from left to right and top to bottom, and to deselect text by moving a cursor from right to left and bottom to top.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority based on U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Serial No. 60/114,573, entitled “System and Method forSelectively Highlighting Portions of a Document,” filed Dec. 31, 1998.This application is also related to co-pending U.S. patent applicationsentitled, “System and Method for Selecting and Processing Information inan Electronic Document,” Attorney Docket No. 52817.000102, filedherewith.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates to the selection of information within anelectronic document, and more particularly to selecting information whenthe information is actively selected in a first direction anddeselecting information when information is actively selected in asecond direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The widespread acceptance of modern word processing and graphicssystems has increased the demand for electronic document manipulationfeatures. One common and even expected feature on word processingpackages and other software applications is the ability to selectregions of an electronic document. The selected region may be thenprocessed by functions such as copy to a buffer, print or cut.

[0004] In current applications, selection is generally performed byinitiating a select function, manipulating a position indicator, andterminating the select function. The initiation and termination of theselect function can be accomplished by a number of techniques, includingkeystroke input and mouse input. When the electronic document istext-based, then the common convention is to indicate a live end and ananchor end. The location at which the select function was initiatedserves as the anchor end, while the location at which the selectfunction was terminated serves as the live end. All text between theanchor end and the live end are selected. Once a region has beenselected, limited manipulation of the selected region is available.

[0005] In word processing technologies, for example, one limitation isthat the actual selection of the region of the document which the userwishes to select is not convenient. Specifically, in known wordprocessing applications the user must first place a positionalindicator, such as a cursor, at the beginning of a region of text he orshe wishes to select, initiate the select function such as by clicking amouse, and then move to the intended end of the selected region.However, if the user wishes to process noncontiguous regions ofinformation, the user must select each of the noncontiguous regionsseparately. Other drawbacks exist. More convenient, intuitive and fastertechnology for manipulating textual information is desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention overcoming these and other problems in the artrelates to a system and method for processing target information withinan electronic document which permits a user to select target informationregions and deselect separating information regions of an electronicdocument in one continuous operation. The target information is theinformation that is to be selected and processed by a particularcomputer function. In a preferred embodiment, the invention achievesthis processing flexibility in part by a method that selects text when acursor is operated in one direction and deselects text when a cursor isoperated in another direction.

[0007] An object of the invention is to provide a system and method thatallows users to process target information when the target informationregions are noncontiguous without having to select and process each ofthe noncontiguous target information regions separately.

[0008] Another object of the invention is to increase user efficiency byselecting text when a positional indicator is manipulated in onedirection and deselecting text when a positional indicator ismanipulated in a second direction.

[0009] An object of the invention is to provide a system and method thatallows users to process target graphical information, in which movementsof a positional indicator in one direction will serve to select theassociated graphical information whereas movements of a positionalindicator in another direction will serve to deselect the associatedgraphical information. In all embodiments, selected information can bemodified without the loss of the original selected text.

[0010] Another object of the invention is to provide a system and methodthat permits a user to make a first selection, perform a process, andthen make further modifications to the first selection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is an illustration of a computer workstation processing anelectronic document according to the invention.

[0012]FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of the steps performed by a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 3 is an illustration of an electronic text document in whicha selected region has been expanded according to the invention.

[0014]FIG. 4 is an illustration of embedded delimiter tags within theelectronic text document processed according to the invention.

[0015]FIG. 5 is an illustration of an embodiment of the invention beforea region of text is deselected.

[0016]FIG. 6 is an illustration of an embodiment of the invention aftera region of text is deselected.

[0017]FIG. 7 is an illustration of a graphical-based embodiment of thepresent invention displaying a first selected region.

[0018]FIG. 8 is an illustration of a graphical-based embodiment of thepresent invention displaying a first selected region and a seconddeselected region.

[0019]FIG. 9 is an illustration of the output of a graphical-basedembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] The invention will be described with respect to a workstation 120at which a user processes an electronic text 108. Workstation 120includes a display screen 102, such as a computer display screen, whichdisplays electronic text 108. Display screen can be a CRT, LCD or othertype of computer or other display. Workstation 120 includes a centralprocessing unit 110, which may contain a controller operating underprogrammed control, storage and memory connected by an electronic busand related circuitry (not shows) that sill be appreciated by personsskilled in the art. Workstation 120 for instance can be a personalcomputer running the Microsoft Windows™95, 98 or NT™ operating systems,or Linux, Unix or other operating systems.

[0021] Display 102 displays the electronic text 108 to the user andreceives input from the user to manipulate the text and itscharacteristics. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the inputdevices to the central processing unit 110 include a keyboard 112although it will be appreciated that other types of input devices, suchas mice, trackballs, microphones with speech to text converters andothers are contemplated for use by the invention. Keyboard 112 includesa set of keys 114, including a set of alphanumeric keys such as theQWERTY keyboard, and cursor arrow keys 116. Cursor arrow keys 116 havearrows indicating directions marked on them, and striking those keyscauses a cursor 104 displayed on display 102 to move in a correspondingdirection, as understood by persons skilled in the art.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the electronic document is atext-based document 108 as illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the userhas selected a region of the text 106. This region is selected by anymethod well known in the art. For example, a user could use a keyboard,a mouse, or a stylus to indicate the terminal points of the selectedregion. In a preferred embodiment, the selected region 106 isrepresented as a highlighted region. Selected region 106 may be shown ondisplay 102 in a different color, in a different intensity or otherwisedisplayed as a distinct region within electronic text IDS. The edges ofthe selected region can either be designated as an HTML style text tag,such as <select>, or it can be a visual representation, such as a markeror an edge to a visually highlighted region. In the illustratedembodiment, the user wishes to extend the selected region 106 to the endof the sentence. A positional indicator, which in a preferred embodimentis a cursor 104, is located at the edge of the selected region adjacentto the terminal point.

[0023]FIG. 2 depicts a high-level flow chart of the steps performed by apreferred embodiment of the present invention. The first step is toreceive input which initiates the select function (step 201). This stepcan be implemented with a predetermined set of keystrokes, depression ofa mouse key, or other mechanisms known in the art. Once the selectfunction is initiated, a begin active select delimiter is created at thelocation of the positional indicator (step 202). Further input isaccepted to move the positional indicator (step 203). As the positionalindicator is moved, it creates an active select region between the beginactive select delimiter and the cursor. In a preferred embodiment, theelectronic document is a textual document, and the selection processselects text along lines of a written page as is well known in the art.The active select region preferably has a different appearance than textoutside of this region. Once the positional indicator is in the desiredlocation, input is accepted to terminate the select function (step 204).

[0024] Once the select function is terminated, an end active selectdelimiter is set at the current position of the cursor (step 205). In apreferred embodiment, information is selected when the begin activeselect delimiter is to the left of or above the end active selectdelimiter (step 220). If the information was previously selected, thenit will remain selected. If regions of the active select region werepreviously selected whereas regions of the active select region werenon-selected, then the entire region is preferably selected. In apreferred embodiment information is deselected when the begin activeselect is to the right of or below the end active select delimiter (step230). If the information was non-selected, then it will remainnon-selected. If the information contained in the active select regionwas partially selected, then the entire region will be deselected. In apreferred embodiment, selected information will have visuallydistinguishable features, such as highlighting.

[0025]FIG. 3 provides an illustration of the present invention. Thepositional indicator, preferable a cursor 104, is positioned at the edgeof the selected region 106. The selected region 106 is preferablyhighlighted to distinguish it from other non-selected regions. Bystriking a predetermined set of keystrokes on keys 114, the userpreferably creates a begin active select delimiter. The set ofkeystrokes might be, for example, the depression of the “Control” keyand holding that key down while hitting the “S” key, for selecting. Oncethe predetermined set of keystrokes is input, the cursor 104 can bemoved by pressing the cursor arrow keys 116 to cause the cursor 104 toslide to the desired location 118. While the select function is on, eachword between the begin select tag and the cursor is known as the activeselect region. Preferably, the active select region is displayed in adifferent manner than both the selected region and the non-selectedregion. For example, while the selected region is presented as ahighlighted region of a particular color, the active select region ispreferably presented as a highlighted region of another color.

[0026] When the user sees the edit cursor 118 at the position he or shedesires, then the user provides user input to terminate the selectfunction. For example, in a preferred embodiment, the user may strike asecond set of predetermined keystrokes to indicate that the new positionof the edit cursor is the point at which termination of the selectedregion is desired. This second set of keystrokes may be the sameControl/S keystroke as the first set, or another according to particularimplementations. Once the select function is terminated, an end activeselect delimiter is inserted at the location of the cursor 104. In FIG.3, the begin active select delimiter is inserted to the right or belowthe end active select delimiter. Therefore, the active select region isconverted to a selected region having a similar appearance to thepreviously selected region.

[0027] As illustrated in FIG. 4, in one embodiment the activation of thefirst set of keystrokes to execute the selective highlighting of theinvention works to modify a pair of embedded delimiter tags 124, 126.Embedded delimiter tag 124 is shown as a begin tag, while embeddeddelimiter tag 126 is shown as an end tag, and each is shown in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) format. It will be appreciated however thatother types of document delimiters and conventions for highlighting arecontemplated. It is further contemplated that by inserting additionaldelimiter tags between the embedded delimiter tags 124 and 126,non-contiguous regions of information, such as text, could be selectedfor further processing.

[0028] The invention also contemplates the preparation and storage ofcomputer software in a machine-readable format such as a floppy or othermagnetic, optical or other drive, which upon execution carries out theselective highlight actions of the invention.

[0029]FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate information being deselected with thepresent invention. Specifically, FIGS. 5 and 6 demonstrate deselectingof the word “quick.” In FIG. 5, the cursor 104 is moved to a position tothe right of “quick.” The select function is then initiated by akeystroke combination, clicking a mouse button, or other inputmechanism. Initiation of the select function creates a begin activeselect delimiter in the location of the cursor 104. The cursor 104 isthen moved to the left until the cursor 104 is located to the right ofthe word “quick.” As the cursor is moved to the left, each of theletters between the cursor 104 and the begin active select delimiter arepreferably displayed in a different color than both the selected regionand the non-selected region.

[0030] Once the cursor 104 is in the desired position, the selectfunction is then terminated by a keystroke combination, clicking a mousebutton, or other input mechanism. Because the begin active selectdelimiter is to the right of the end active select delimiter, the activeselect region is deselected, as displayed in FIG. 6. The deselecting ispreferably implemented by inserting an end select delimiter to the rightof the first information target region (“The”), and inserting a beginselect delimiter to the left of the second information target region(“brown fox jumped over the fence”).

[0031] The steps presented in FIG. 2 can be repeated until all of thetarget information is selected and nothing but target information isselected, as depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6. Furthermore, the content of thetarget information can be process dependent. For example, the targetinformation for a print process could consist of the words “The quickbrown fox jumped over the fence,” as depicted in FIG. 3. Then, for acopy process, the target information could consist of the words “The”and “brown fox jumped over the fence,” as shown in to FIG. 6. The targetinformation can exist on different pages, on different documents, and indifferent applications. Once all of the target information has beenselected, then the user can process the information in accordance withany available functions. For example, the user could print, copy, ordelete the selected text.

[0032]FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 depict an embodiment of the present inventionapplied to a graphically-based document 300. In FIG. 7, the user hasselected region 301 by placing a cursor at the upper left corner ofselected region 301, initiating a select function, and moving thepositional indicator to the lower right corner of the selected region301. Once the boundaries of the selected region 301 are set, the selectfunction is terminated by, for example, a keystroke combination. Theselected region 301 can be portrayed in different color, having apredetermined boundary, or otherwise distinguished from non-selectedregion.

[0033]FIG. 8 depicts a deselected region 302. Deselected region 302 isdesignated by positioning the positional indicator at the lower rightcorner of the deselected region 302, initiating the select function,moving the positional indicator to the upper left corner of thedeselected region, and terminating the select function. The deselectedregion 302 can be portrayed in different color, having a predeterminedboundary, or otherwise distinguished from selected region. Once thetarget region has been selected, the user can then process theinformation as required. For example, the user could cut the selectedinformation 301 and paste it to a new location, as shown in FIG. 9.

[0034] The foregoing description of the system and method of theinvention is illustrative, and variations in configuration andimplementation will occur to persons skilled in the art. For instance,while the adjustment of the selected region has been described asenlarging and deselecting, it is also contemplated that a user couldmodify information that is not proximal to the selected text, such asinformation contained on different pages or in different files.Furthermore, the invention has been described as selecting informationwhen to the positional indicator is moved in a first set of directionsand deselecting when the positional indicator is moved in a second setof directions. These sets of directions could be adjusted, either byadjustments to the programming code or by integrating an interface thatenables a user to establish the function associated with the aparticular input. The scope of the invention is intended to be limitedonly by the following claims.

1. A method of selecting and deselecting information within anelectronic document, the method comprising the steps of: a) acceptinginput via an input interface; b) selecting the information in theelectronic document when the information is actively selected in a firstdirection of movement; and c) deselecting the information in theelectronic document when the information is actively selected in asecond direction of movement.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (a)comprises: i) accepting input to designate a begin active selectdelimiter at a beginning of an active select region in the electronicdocument; ii) accepting input to move a positional indicator; iii)accepting input to designate an end active select delimiter at an end ofthe active select region; and iv) processing the begin active selectdelimiter and the end active select delimiter to determine a directionof movement of the positional indicator.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein step (b) comprises the step of selecting the target informationregion when the direction of movement is in either the downward or rightdirection and wherein step (c) comprises the step of deselecting thetarget information when the direction of movement is in either theupward or left direction.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstdirection and the second direction are established by user input.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, comprising the further step of (d) displaying theselected information in a first color, wherein said first color is adifferent color than a second color of the deselected text.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein step (a) comprises the step of acceptinginput to move a positional indicator, said movement causing theinformation between the positional indicator and a begin active selectdelimiter to be displayed in a different color than the first color andthe second color.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising thesteps: d) storing the location of the select delimiters of the selectregion from step (b); and e) retaining the select delimiters duringsubsequent select functions until the active select region modifies theselect delimiters.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronicdocument comprises graphical information.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein: the electronic document is a graphical document; the activelyselected region is a box; and the dimensions of the box are determinedby the location of a pair of tags located at opposite corners of thebox.
 10. A system for selecting information within an electronicdocument, the system comprising: an input interface to receive input fordesignating a begin active select delimiter and an end active selectdelimiter in the electronic document; and a processor unit, connected tothe input interface, the processor unit selecting the active selectregion when the begin active select delimiter is before the end activeselect delimiter and deselecting the active select region when the beginactive select delimiter is after the end active select delimiter. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the information is textual information.12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor unit stores a begintag and an end tag for each of the selected information regions.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10 further comprising a display to display the selectedinformation region in a different manner than a non-selected informationregion.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the input unit accepts inputfrom at least one of a keyboard, a speech to text converter, a mouse, apressure pad and a trackball device.
 15. The system of claim 10, whereinthe selected region is selectively processed by any function availablewithin the application.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein theelectronic document comprises graphical information.
 17. A computerreadable medium having computer readable program code embodied thereinfor selecting and deselecting information within an electronic document,the computer readable program code in the computer useable mediumcomprising: computer readable program code for causing a computer toaccept input for designating a begin active select delimiter and an endactive select delimiter; and computer readable program code for causinga computer select the active select region when the begin active selectdelimiter is before the end active select delimiter and deselecting theactive select region when the begin active select delimiter is after theend active select delimiter.
 18. A system for selecting informationwithin an electronic document, the system comprising: input means foraccepting input to designate a begin active select delimiter and an endactive select delimiter; and processor means, connected to the inputmeans, for selecting the active select region when the begin activeselect delimiter is before the end active select delimiter anddeselecting the active select region when the begin active selectdelimiter is after the end active select delimiter.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the processor means stores a begin tag and an end tagfor each of the selected information regions.
 20. The system of claim 18further comprising display means for displaying the selected informationregion in a different manner than a non-selected information region. 21.The system of claim 18, wherein the selected region is selectivelyprocessed by any function available within the application.